The Lost Patrol: Lost Starship Series, Book 5

Maddox and the crew are on their own, facing perils inside the ship and terrifying alien dangers outside in one of the remotest regions of the Orion Arm. Then they stumble upon the darkest secret of all. Unless the A.I. Galyan, Meta, Sergeant Riker and the others can help their beleaguered captain, Victory is doomed and Earth will never learn of the terrible threat gathering in the stellar darkness.

A Hymn Before Battle: Legacy of the Aldenata

With Earth in the path of the rapacious Posleen, the Galactic Federation offers help to the backward humans - for a price. You can protect yourself from your enemies, but God save you from your allies!

At the Sign of Triumph: Safehold, Book 9

The Church of God Awaiting's triumph over Charis was inevitable. Despite its prosperity, the Charis was a single, small island realm. It boasted less than two percent of the total population of Safehold. How could it possibly resist total destruction? The Church had every reason to be confident of a swift, crushing victory, an object lesson to other rebels.

Under a Graveyard Sky: Black Tide Rising, Book 1

Zombies are real. And we made them. Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? The Smith family is, with the help of a few marines. When an airborne "zombie" plague is released, bringing civilization to a grinding halt, the Smith family, Steven, Stacey, Sophia, and Faith, take to the Atlantic to avoid the chaos. The plan is to find a safe haven from the anarchy of infected humanity. What they discover, instead, is a sea composed of the tears of survivors and a passion for bringing hope.

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners

With New Orleans out of control, Chad Oliver Gardenier, one of Monster Hunter International's premier hunters, has been dispatched from Seattle to reinforce the beleaguered members of MHI'S Hoodoo Squad in their fight against the darkness.

March Upcountry: Prince Roger Series, Book 1

Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang MacClintock was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man. So it wasn't surprising that he became spoiled, self-centered, and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life?

Ghost: Paladin of Shadows, Book 1

Former SEAL Michael Harmon, Team Name ''Ghost'', retired for service injuries, is not enjoying college life. But things are about to change, if not for the better. When he sees a kidnapping, a series of, at the time logical, decisions leave him shot to ribbons and battling a battalion of Syrian commandos with only the help of three naked co-eds who answer to the names ''Bambi,'' ''Thumper'' and ''Cotton Tail.'

Steel World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 1

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

Koban: Conflict and Empire

The Galactic Federation is confronted by the vast and implacable Thandol Empire, which has coveted the former Krall region of space for eons, a region of space now occupied and claimed by the upstart Kobani. Outnumbered, they face an opponent who possesses new and deadly weapons. An enemy that had thousands of years to develop the means to take on the Krall Empire, and now present the supermen with a weapon that turns their greatest genetic asset into their greatest weakness.

On Basilisk Station: Honor Harrington, Book 1

Honor Harrington has been exiled to Basilisk station and given an antique ship to police the system. The vindictive superior who sent her there wants her to fail. But he made one mistake: he's made her mad....

The news that humanity had been dreading for ages had come true. Zombies are real. Worst of all, we created them. The apocalypse was upon us, and every man, woman and child had to answer a simple question of themselves: "What do we do now?"

The Last Centurion

In the second decade of the 21st century, the world is struck by two catastrophes: a new mini-ice age and a plague to dwarf all previous experiences. Rising out of the disaster is the character known to history as "Bandit Six", an American Army officer caught up in the struggle to rebuild the world and prevent the fall of his homeland - despite the best efforts of politicians, both elected and military.

Into the Looking Glass: Looking Glass Series, Book 1

When asubatomic physics experiment causes a massive explosion, interdimensional gateways open in Florida - and aliens pour out. Some intend to bring Earth to its knees. Others seem willing to help, but will annihilate the planet if Navy SEAL Command Master Chief Robert Miller can't stop the menace from spreading.

Swarm: Star Force, Book 1

Kyle Riggs is snatched by an alien spacecraft sometime after midnight. The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there.

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend.

A Learning Experience, Book 1

When a bunch of interstellar scavengers approach Earth intending to abduct a few dozen humans and sell them into slavery in the darkest, they make the mistake of picking on Steve Stuart and his friends, ex-military veterans all. Unprepared for humans who can actually fight, unaware of the true capabilities of their stolen starships, the scavengers rapidly lose control of the ship - and their lives.

Metal Boxes - At the Edge

Ensign Stone's goals were to make his way in the Empire's navy, make his family proud of him, and make love to his fiancée. No matter which way he turned, someone was conspiring against him. Disgraced and humiliated, he is court-martialed, discharged, and abandoned. Accepting what he thinks is a lowly busy-work position on a beat up old family business space freighter travelling at the edge of human space, he hopes to earn back the trust and respect he lost.

The Never Hero: The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs, Book 1

Reclusive college student Jonathan Tibbs wakes in a pool of blood, not a scratch on him. His life is about to undergo a massive shift. A violent and merciless otherworldly enemy unleashes slaughter in the streets, calling out in a language only he understands. And it is seeking its challenger. In order to defeat the threat, Jonathan must become a temporal weapon...while remaining completely anonymous. Unfortunately, harnessing off-world powers has its own special challenges...

Publisher's Summary

Beginning a New Series by a New York Times Best-Selling Author.Will the People of Earth Bow Down toAlien Overlords—or Will They Live Free or Die?

First Contact Was Friendly

When aliens trundled a gate to other worlds into the solar system, the world reacted with awe, hope and fear. But the first aliens to come through, the Glatun, were peaceful traders and the world breathed a sigh of relief.

Who Controls the Orbitals, Controls the World

When the Horvath came through, they announced their ownership by dropping rocks on three cities and gutting them. Since then, they've held Terra as their own personal fiefdom. With their control of the orbitals, there's no way to win and earth's governments have accepted the status quo.

Live Free or Die

To free the world from the grip of the Horvath is going to take an unlikely hero. A hero unwilling to back down to alien or human governments, unwilling to live in slavery and with enough hubris, if not stature, to think he can win. Fortunately, there's Tyler Vernon. And he has bigger plans than just getting rid of the Horvath.

Troy Rising is a book in three parts—Live Free or Die being the first part—detailing the freeing of earth from alien conquerors, the first steps into space using off-world technologies and the creation of Troy, a thousand trillion ton battlestation designed to secure the solar system.

This is actually solid and creative sci-fi. A few of the reviews I read accuse the book and the author of racism but I think this is going way too far. The story is basically about Republican physicists saving the world. Even as someone who is very politically progressive I enjoyed it immensely. The conservative stuff is not hidden, the author just throws it right out there and in that way it's almost funny. The good guys are heads of corporations who are trying to save humanity despite government interference/regulation. There's a bunch of little digs in the vein of "if we can just keep the damned government off our backs" and even a slam on space-environmentalists ("we've trashed our own planet enough...")

That said I didn't find any of this overbearing and in reality the author is probably correct that first contact with alien species would not dry up all the hundred year old political squabbles on earth.

Alot of this book is concerned with the size/scope/power requirements of spacefaring. I bring that up to say that despite the levity of the dialogue it's actually pretty hard core sci-fi. Those hoping for laser battles or light-saber fights will be disappointed by this novel. The major battle scene reads almost like a physics textbook.

Overall this is a fun read. The narrator is excellent, he does some voice modulation for different characters but does not go to the ridiculous lengths to which some are tempted.

This book kicks off the Troy Rising series with the standard Sci-Fi scenario of mankind's first contact with aliens. As is often the case, things don't go well for Earth as we are outclassed both technologoically and militarily when the Horvath come to claim our resources. Earth's governments have no recourse but to comply to the demands and Earth becomes a subservient planet.

Enter Tyler Vernon into the story and things start to change. Tyler Vernon not only steps up to save Earth but he also saves this entire series of books. He is an interesting, opinionated character that isn't willing to allow Earth to remain slaves to the Horvath. Any time the book (and series) focuses on Tyler Vernon and his plans it flies by and is a joy to listen to.

There are, however, lulls in each of the 3 books in the series so far where Ringo spends way too much time on boring subjects. In the first book it is the difficulties of mining in space with a "laser", in book 2 it is ship maintenance and welding in space, and in book 3 it is the culture clash faced by the Latin American military in space. Each of these are important to the overall story, but could have been addressed in far fewer pages. The bloat fills the gaps between the interesting parts of the story related to Tyler Vernon and the fight for humanity's freedom.

Mark Boyett does a decent job with the material, although he is forced to repeat "Tyler said" thousands of times due to the way the book is written. He is also a bit dry in his overall reading.

If you are willing to take the good with the bad then give the Troy Rising Series a shot. It is a 5 star story arc stuffed with boring periods that drag it down to 3 stars.

If you enjoy john ringo then you will absolutely love this book. Memorable characters, great science, solid story and clear writing, it's all there, along with his political views.
Point is, there is nothing in this book that will be surprising to any Ringo fan. If your a new fan of a politically right bent, you'll love this book.
If you're not, or you haven't been a fan of ringo in the first place, then, like the person who gave the book a 1 star, just avoid this book. It's that simple.
To the Ringo fans out there, Rest Assured, he'd done it again.

First, the book was a great listen. The characters were interesting, the SF was hard and fast, the story was well told. That said, the author's conservative views were a major part of the story, but not an overwhelming part. What got me was his view that after a devastating act on the ENTIRE planet, their wouldn't be a push to unite the planet under some common response.

He does a decent job of chronicling the bickering that might take place with different cultures, economies, and the historic grievances that run deep that would prevent a common response, but it just seems implausible. Then, again, maybe I'm one of the do-gooder liberals he bashes so often in the book. :)

I have given a 5 star rating because it does exactly what it promised in the first few minutes: to discuss politics, war and relationships.

I will note that I am sucker for the Heinlein homage that seeps through Ringo's writing in this novel. If you like Robert Heinlein's classic characters Lazarus Long or Jubal Hershaw, you will like Ringo's Tyler Vernon. However, the converse sentiment also holds true, you will likely see in Tyler Vernon the same audacious (maybe even arrogant) attitudes found in Heinlein's writing which alleges that bureaucrats are the single biggest danger to humanity (even more than the dreaded "liberals").

I will note that for the record, the author takes creative liberties with many (read most) of the details regarding space exploration, political/economic philosophies and the suffering that comes with Alien Domination. While I accept that current literary theory holds that authors only tell the stories they themselves believe and as such Ringo must see himself as Tyler Vernon, I will note that the same criticism has been labeled at Heinlein. I would say that if all you hear or read in the character of Tyler Vernon is a fictional caricature of the ideal "rugged individual," you have only seen one dimension of Tyler Vernon.

As a work of Science Fiction, this is not a book that reads like a technical manual nor is it filled with in-depth or vivid descriptions of milieu, environment and setting. Yet careful listening to the words will demonstrate that the relative unimportance of details is a central theme in the life of Tyler Vernon.

At the same time, it must be noted that Ringo is not Tom Clancy. I say this to note that Ringo does not bury you in minute details simply to prove the expertise of his characters or his own depth of knowledge and extensive research. Ringo implicitly requests his readers/listeners accept his authorial fiat on the subject of details in order to tell us a new twist on an old story.

I enjoyed the writing, concepts, and narration of the book. That being said, I know that John Ringo is a guest commentator on Fox News, but the constant political bashing does get a bit old after a while. I get it, you don't like liberals but geez... In any case, I did enjoy the book enough to get the following two books :-)

I agree with a great deal of the politics in the book, but, Ringo really shoves in your face. It's really a political screed in the guise of a science fiction novel. The sad thing is that I think it might have been a more effective at making its political points with some subtlety, and would have been a better novel to boot.

It might not bother too many others, but to me the very technical, very blatantly expository dialogue got very tedious very quickly. And there's LOADS of this here. I followed it for awhile, but the exobiology lessons in the form of dialogue made my brain drift. And then I would have that sinking feeling that I've just spent the past 15 minutes wondering idly about things like when Toyota intends to change the Corolla in a meaningful way, or weighing the pros and cons of buying the smaller 700 watt or the larger 1000 watt microwave while this audiobook droned on in the background. So I'd have to weigh whether to back it up or not. Mostly, I said "screw it."

With characters existing to advance political didacticism and deliver wooden expository dialogue, your expectations for character development should be low. Well, lower them yet further and you'd be about right.

After a point, I lost patience with it, which is sad, really, because I think the premise IS intriguing.

John Ringo delivers again with a sweeping epic of the near future. He draws on some old sci-fi themes from classic stories of the past, throws in a Howard Hughes-like character, and gives us another great story. Ringo's conservative political views tend to come out in his writing, but are a minor distraction from an otherwise great story. This audio book was well-narrated with good characterization. I am looking forward to Ringo's sequel in what I understand will be a triology. I recommend this one.

While the basic plot is interesting and there's no doubt Ringo is a capable writer, Live Free or Die is bogged down by constant political commentary. I'm slightly right of center politically and not normally bothered by this sort of thing (especially as I live in a very conservative area) but it was really extreme and detracted from the otherwise good story.

The theme of "Liberal city idiots" exploiting the hard working country patriots is repeated on nearly every page of this book. Global warming is a joke, Democrats are lazy moochers off the government while Republicans are working multiple jobs, CNN is a bunch of foolish idiots and Fox News is the only station worth talking to and Washington DC should be nuked. Even the aliens society is failing because they are liberal. Even if you agree with all this, the non-stop nature of the barbs is amateurish and very distracting.

I'm sure I will get down votes on this review by people who will vote purely for political reasons but if you stop and analyze the book from the perspective of a Sci-fi fan, not a political rant, you will see the political aspect of the book was so overdone it ruined the intent. There is much to be said of subtlety.

I couldn't believe how much I liked this book when I launched into the first few chapters. I also couldn't believe how much I disliked this book when hour after hour was spent discussing the pros and cons of various engineering problems.

Instead of the rapid-pace events of the book's beginning, be prepared for bureaucrats, negotiations, engineering brain-storming sessions and one meeting that leads to another that leads to still another, seemingly endlessly.

I appreciate that John Ringo has given this a great deal of thought and wants to include the detail he has imagined for this project. However, I just really don't care how you are going to solve the problem of cutting a door through a nickel-iron chunk of asteroid.

This is not really hard sci-fi, which I love, but hard engineering fiction where a person is supposed to enjoy the debates about advanced engineering topics. Included in these long discussions are questions about how much tonnage some device should be, and the pros and cons of having an interior 9 kilometers across versus 10 kilometers because they didn't use enough volatiles when expanding the sphere.

This title has received criticism of being right-wing propaganda...
Apparently, one can't even read a book anymore without politicising it.

I for one had fun with this and I'm not ashamed for it.
Yes, the story is a bit cheesy and predictable, the main character a hero who single-handedly saves Earth, but so what?
It's not like Hollywood has done any better lately. At least the characters in Live Free or Die have more depth to them.

If you're looking for something whimsical, surprising or deep, you'll be disappointed, but if you like the majority of SciFi movies, you will enjoy this.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Mr. R. Chvapil

UK

10/27/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"well written"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Just what I love. Story about mankind's resourcefulness set in not so far future. Mankind triumphs thanks to few special individuals and ability to cooperate and work hard. In short " Don't mess with the Terrans"

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, absolutely

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Jamie

Chester, United Kingdom

10/13/11

Overall

"Brilliant stuff"

I love this book, I have listened to it twice now. The narrator is fantastic, his Vermont accents absolutely spot on and very funny. This is one of the most unusual sci-fi stories I've read and also the funniest. I don't like Russell's review of this book, I can't help thinking that he misunderstood some of the politics and humour. It is interesting and odd that Russell has also posted the exact same, word for word review on Amazon of the paper back book.
Don't be put off, this series is thoroughly entertaining and clever.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Trevor

Llanyre, United Kingdom

1/4/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Quite enjoyable"

Any additional comments?

It was a good book, would not normally go for this but tried other series from the author which i enjoyed. The book and idea was simple but fun, why not have one man whom stands above overs :) did go on a bit but overall enjoyable :)

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

John Gray

4/9/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Best audible SF book ever"

Would you listen to Live Free or Die again? Why?

Absolutely brilliant SF book, really big what if storyline, had me riveted and unwilling to get out the car and go into work n

What was one of the most memorable moments of Live Free or Die?

Sticking it to the Horvath

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

Clear and well paced.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Troy station coming online and defending the world

Any additional comments?

Listen to it, awesome.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sarah

Grange-over-Sands, United Kingdom

10/22/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"terrible story, horrible politics, not for me!!"

this starts well, the guy can write, but after about 2 hours the story descends into a slightly distasteful right wing, misogynistic rant. I had to stop listening, in fact I'll be asking for my money back on this one.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful

DENNIS

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom

4/13/13

Overall

"MILITARY SCI-FI"

FAST PACED BLOOD AND GUTS-TYPICAL RINGO SCI-FI A BOOK YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT DOWN/STOP LISTENING TOO.WILL BE BUYING THE NEXT EPISODE.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful

Russell

LONDON, United Kingdom

7/16/11

Overall

"Juvenile, and not in a good way."

This is a very mediocre sci fi romp, not awful, not a work of literature either.

The problem is that this is a very, very thinly disguised piece of EXTREMELY right wing propaganda.

Through a series of rather forced deus ex machina, the author's utopia of blond, illiberal hard working, non-muslim humanity with a hyper-libidoed female population is brought into being. Conveniently by the evil aliens without the heroes' approval or intervention thereby enabling everyone to enjoy the resultant paradise without that pesky guilt that more mundane ethnic cleansing usually brings.

It is, in a word, juvenile. The lead character, super smart yet a good ol' man of the land, is transparently just a mouthpiece for the author's prejudices. He becomes the richest man in the world overnight and routinely shows up those liberal city folk (the President, corporate executives, etc.) for the low down cowardly sneaky liars they are. And in the end of course, saves everybody with only the asians, africans, middle easterners and city folk falling victim to the ensuing conflict. No loss there then.

I would expect this kind of thing to be written by a geeky teenager as a wish fulfilment fantasy after he'd just been snubbed by the prettiest girl at high school when asking her to the prom.

From a published author, it's just a bit sad.

5 of 19 people found this review helpful

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